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I’ve done more writing about Rob Bell’s book Velvet Elvis than I care to. It’s really not that impacting of a book! Really. However, there’s so much buzz about it in some circles that it just keeps getting talked about, torn up, revered, and passed on. Cavman has written a series about his impression of the book, and this entry is related to the chapter on truth. It hits pretty much on my conclusions as well.

VE is not for the new or faint-of-heart Christian. It needs to be read with spiritual discernment, and I certainly wouldn’t advise it if you tend to take “Books” as authoritative (aka, “this guy got published, so what he writes must be absolutely true..”). However, it could be a good read just to stimulate your thinking… or to make you shake your head and say, “What’s the point?”

I haven’t read VE, but I listened to quite a few of Bell’s sermons a few months ago… I found his teaching to be thought provoking and interesting, but quite Berean-proof. Sometimes I think he uses historical traditions that are difficult to verify to stretch the meaning of the Biblical text to fit his agenda. There is a popular radio preacher here in town, Chuck Missler, who is also Berean-proof. He spits out hundreds of historical facts to support their argument, but it is very difficult to verify all of those facts. When I have tried, there is often some… Read more »

Overall, I thought Blue Like Jazz was much better. Donald Miller doesn’t write in a way that is prescriptive for the church but in a narrative fashion in BLJ that ends up simply being descriptive of his own church experiences. He does make observations throughout, but they arise from his own experiences. Bell, on the other hand, wears the moniker of a pastor/teacher and so what he writes is done from the perspective of someone who, I feel, should be more diligent in being truthful. Some of his sources are unverifiable and really questionable. Both books, however, should not be… Read more »

I haven’t read VE, but I did read Blue Like Jazz. I enjoyed it. Not because of its depth, but because of its light-heartedness (is that a word). It did a great job of exhorting me to reach out to people who most Christians overlook or worse, avoid. Mostly, I just enjoyed BLJ because of how much fun it was to read. Miller has a great sense of humor.

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Notes from the TrailThe Personal Blog of Jeff NobleInfo: From the misty hills of Virginia, "Notes from the Trail" seeks to encourage you on your journey. Written by a graphic designer-pastor, this blog is a blend of humor, insight, and faith discovery.

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